1. Field of Invention
This invention relates to an ink-jet recording apparatus and more particularly to a carriage locking mechanism for locking a recording-head carrying carriage.
2. Related Art
An ink-jet recording apparatus is used for printing on a recording medium by sending a jet of ink drops out of ink nozzles of a recording head while reciprocating a recording-head carrying carriage within a predetermined range. When no printing is occurring, the carriage is kept on stand-by in the home position outside the printing range. In the stand-by condition, the nozzle-forming surface of the recording head is covered with a cap to prevent increasing ink viscosity as the ink dries, or to prevent entrance of air from the outside. While the recording head is covered with the cap, an ink suction pump is driven periodically to discharge thickened ink and air outside by sucking the ink from the ink nozzles of the recording head. In addition, an elastic blade is used to wipe off foreign materials such as paper dust and ink sticking to the nozzle-forming surface of the recording head.
When ink is sucked from the recording head by driving the ink suction pump, the recording head must be set at the predetermined position so that the cap will not slip off the recording head. It is then necessary to lock the carriage containing the recording head in the home position and prevent the cap from undesirably slipping off the recording head. In the home position, the carriage can often be released from this position due to vibration, shock, a power cut or the like.
Mounting the ink suction pump, the carriage locking mechanism, and the head wiping member tends to increase not only the dimensions of the apparatus but also its production cost to the extent that they are mounted. It is therefore desirable to make such mechanisms as an ink suction pump, a carriage locking mechanism and a mechanism for driving a head wiping member small-sized and compact.